Pilot dies in crash

he pilot of a small cargo plane hauling United Parcel Service packages had stopped at the Pellston Regional Airport for fuel just before he crashed, authorities said Wednesday.

By MIKE FORNESmike@cheboygantribune.com

The pilot of a small cargo plane hauling United Parcel Service packages had stopped at the Pellston Regional Airport for fuel just before he crashed, authorities said Wednesday.Jeffrey M. Salles, 26, of Terrytown, La., was pronounced dead at the scene after his missing plane was found about 3 a.m. Wednesday near the intersection of Camp Road and Durkalic Road in Emmet County’s McKinley Township.Salles was alone in the 1994 Cessna Model 208 B, leased to Martinaire Aviation of Addison, Texas, and arrived at Pellston after flying from the Chippewa County Airport at Kinross, Mich. The aircraft was bound for Lansing, Mich., after the fuel stop. Pellston Regional Airport officials confirmed that Salles departed at 8:42 p.m. and that his company reported him missing at approximately 10:45 p.m. when the plane did not arrive at Lansing. Emmet County Sheriff Pete Wallin said in a news release that Deputies and the Emmet County Search and Rescue Team located the aircraft in a wooded area southwest of the airport. Wallin said the accident remains under investigation and that National Transportation Safety Board officials were due to arrive at the scene.